A/N: Hello again my snowflakes! Apologies on my 6+ month disappearance. I got writer's block then had a crap ton of work because I overestimated my ability to understand machine learning and coding so this story got put on the back burner. Still kind of iffy on the plot progression but I figured I'll start uploading and hopefully get motivated by views, likes, and comments. If any of you have any feedback, that'll be much appreciated! Here's a short chapter as a little taste~


Chapter 22

"Korosensei's strange, isn't he?" The boy walking next to her asked. He knew she was spacing out again, but he didn't mind. Their walks were usually filled with a comfortable silence.

"Hm?" Mizuki responded halfheartedly. "Oh, yeah. Then again, he's an alien from space bent on destroying earth so a few chemically induced funny faces really shouldn't have been a surprise."

Chiba chuckled at her blunt response. As they approached the gate, a voice called out, "Hiayshi-san."

Why does this feel like deja vu? Both teens asked themselves as they simultaneously turned around to see a redhead addressing her instead of a blonde one. Mizuki made eye contact with those snake-like golden eyes and turned on her heel.

"Hiyashi." He repeated. It sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

Though he was rightfully nervous in the presence of the sociopath, Chiba spoke up, "What do you want with Hiyashi-chan, Karma-san?"

Akabane flat out ignored the other boy and grabbed the girl's shoulder. "Hey, I'm talking to you." A small hand clamped over his wrist. Years of fighting experience over the girl kept him safe from a twisted arm. Instead, he quickly withdrew the offending limb.

"I know. I only respond to reasonable people." Mizuki glared. It was unlike her to get this aggressive with others, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Something about him just triggered her.

Seeing him clench his fists by his side, Mizuki got ready to react. She knew she'd never beat him in a fight, but hopefully she'd be able to evade and restrain him with Chiba's help. Luckily it didn't have to come to that as Akabane backed out of her personal space.

Mizuki visibly relaxed as Akabane mumbled out, "Thank you for yesterday." She barely heard him. Scratch that. She definitely didn't hear him because it sounded like he had just thanked her.

"What?"

Scowling at her, he snapped a bit louder, "Thank you for yesterday. I'm not apologizing for jumping. I still believe it's my life to gamble away, but… I saw you try to save me."

"If you appreciate me trying to save you, why don't you apologize for trying to pointlessly kill yourself?"

"You did what?" Chiba injected only to be shushed with a pinch from Mizuki. She didn't need him to become a target for the sociopath.

"I told you, it's my life. I get to choose what I do with it. It's not my fault other people die. I don't owe them anything. If you feel like you do, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought." Karma was fed up with this.

"And you're a bigger prick than I thought. I guess I was wrong to think you had some sympathy for the weaker." Mizuki growled right back at him.

Karma's face turned to shock hearing that before returning to annoyance, "When did I ever give the impression that I care for those weaker than me? You don't know me."

"No, you don't know me." She jabbed her finger into his chest. "I know you better than you might think."

"And what makes you think you know me so well." Karma wasn't about to back down. He may have let her get away with that slap, but they both knew he could easily overpower her.

Instead of getting scared like he expected, however, she glared right back at him despite the nervous fiddling of her fingers which hadn't escaped his notice. After a minute of charged tension, Mizuki stepped back into a relaxed stance with a smirk, "Maybe if you had a better memory, you'd know what I was talking about Akabane-kun." With that, she grabbed Chiba's wrist and dragged him off.

Karma stood in the same spot gritting his teeth. That was his go to move. He was the relaxed one with the knowing smirk. Why couldn't he seem to pull it off with her? He didn't have an answer for himself; all he knew was that hazel eyed girl pissed him off.

Chapter 22 End


Ship poll
Ryuunosuke Chiba: 17
Akabane Karma: 11
Asano Gakushu: 10
No ship: 3